Wrought-metal type-barr.



F. H. RICHARDS.

WROUGHT METAL TYPE BAR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 18, 1901. n-mmwnn MAR. 10,1909.

Patented Apr. 20, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1 F. H. RICHARDS.

WBOUGHT METAL TYPE BAR. APPLICATION FILED APB.18, 1901. RENEWED MAR. 10, 1909.

919,239, 7 Patented Apr. 20, 1909.

. z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

glfilmesses: 192176921212:

THE NORRIS EETIIS co., wAsumamu. ma

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARns, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MEsNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO AMERICAN TYPOGRAPHIG CCRPCRATICN, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

WROUGHT-METAL TYPE-BAR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 20, 1909.

Application filed April 18, 1901, Serial No. 56,481. Renewed March 10, 1909. Serial No. 482,572.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in VVrought- Metal Type-Bars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to typebars and their manufacture and it has for its main object the provision of a wrought metal typebar formed from wrought metal, and adapted for use in the typographic art.

The most satisfactory wrought-metal typebar, that is, a bar whose edge is provided with a series of consecutive wrought types spaced in accordance with the usual and customary spacing subsisting in the typographic art, is the product not only of material capable of being worked into exact, compact and unbroken counterparts of the typefor ming dies, but each individual type-forming operation should have been confined to that portion of the edge of the blank under and immediately adjacent to the working die, and, furthermore, the material in each particular portion or section in excess of what is needed to form a type block and its various faces shall have'been disposed of without detriment to the contiguous type or type faces. The making of a satisfactory wrought-metal typebar involves, accordingly, something more than the mere repetition of an operation which, in itself, might be capable of forming a single type removed in position from proximity to a finished type or type face.

In forming from cold metal blanks, types suitable for use in the typographic art by a wrought process, the field of action during the shaping of any individual type is necessarily small and all of the operations which may be necessary to produce a finished type are also conducted upon a small scale. For these reasons it is even more important that the material operated upon should be the best that it is possible to obtain for the purpose. hen the body of metal to be subjected to treatment is itself minute, the imperfections that would not be considered in operating upon a large amount of metal become of vast importance and if not eliminated would frequently result in the pro duction of an almost, if not quite, worthless type, for the purpose which it is intended to serve. It is for this reason that the imperfections incident to types formed on cast metal constitute imperfections which it is desirable to eliminate in order to assure at all times the formation of perfect types and the production of perfect impressions from said types. In order to obtain these superior results it is necessary to make use of a material having a structure as nearly homogeneous as it is possible to obtain, and a cast metal, however good it might be, will not meet the requirements.

I11 carrying out the operations for producing the bar the subject of my present improvements I employ a blank which has been wrought into a homogeneous structure and in which the metal is thoroughly condensed, having substantially no loosely held particles to crush or crumble, when subjected to compression by a die.

There has been no general recognition of the fact that a continued rectilinear movement of a die into a mass of suitable ma terial coextensive with the duration of typeforming, is ineffectual in practice to completely and absolutely fill the die. This mode of type-forming, results therefore in a type, the edges of whose impression surfaces are lacking insharpness and definition.

In producing my improved typebar I make use of a blank condensed and rendered of a homogeneous structure, by methods which operate to produce a wrought blank and which possess such characteristics as best fit it to be operated upon by the type-forming die. The blank or bar of metal employed in the preferred form of my invention is one having a peculiar wrought structure, in that it is longitudinally wrought. I subject each type-formable portion of the blank to repeated actions, which, for the purpose of producing synnnetrically-formed types, are preferably alternated from side to side of the mass. These repeated actions result in the gradual reduction of the type-block to shape and are of such Character that they operate to strengthen and finish the base portions of the block where the latter connects with the body of the typebar-blank, and to condense and compact the impression and other faces of the type besides operating to satisfactorily fill the angular portion and hair-line spaces of the die cavity. These methods ofmanufacture, result in the production of my improved type and typebar possessing superior qualities and capable of meeting the most rigorous demands of the typographic art.

In the drawings accompanying the following specification, Figure 1 is a. perspective view representing a suitable device in a conventional way for producing a typebarblank appropriate for producing my improved bar. Fig. 2 is also a perspective view representing one method of forming a wrought type upon a typebar-blank. Fig. 3 is partly an elevational and partly a sectional view taken on a plane transverse to the blank and illustrates one form of a relative subsidiary movement imparted to the members dur ing the process of forming a type on the edge of the blank. Fig. 4: is a view similar to Fig. 3 representing the position of the parts immediately at the close of a type-making operation and showing in a. diagrammatic way the path traced by a die in approaching and receding from its, type-forming position according to one construction for adjusting the same. Fig. 5 is an elevational view representing a portion of a diecarrier, and the edge of a typebarblank, the relation of the blank to the die-carrier in this figure being different from that set forth in Fig. 2. Fig. 6 is a perspective view representing my improved typebar.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

This invention embraces a typebar formed from a wrought type-metal blank whose edge is provided with integral wroughtmetal types. The blank upon which and from which the typebar are to be formed is wrought into the desired or appropriate size and shape by a process or processes which will result in condensing and compacting most perfectly the material of the blank. Preferably the processes to which the material is subjected preliminary to the operation of the type-forming dies upon its edge and to form a. wrought-metal blank are such to produce a wrought structure longitudinally of the blankthat is, the blank is one in which the fiber or grain extends lengthwise of the blankas I have found a. blank of this character is best adapted for producing wrought types of a superior quality. The material, in whatever way it is brought to a solid condition, is subjected to any of the processes employed in the arts for producing wrought-metal and which are suitable to the present requirements; thus, for instance, the blank may be passed through a pair of rolls, designated in a conventional way in Fig. 1 by B, B, the blank being designated throughoutthe present specification. and drawings by H. It is not essential, however, for the production of this character of structure-.-that is, one in which the so-called fiber extends in line with that edge of the blank upon which the dies are to operate that the material be passed between rolls, as substantially the same results may be produced by subjecting the metal to flowagefor instance, by forcing it through a suitable dieas set forth in my application Serial No. 44,672, filed January 25, 1901. The blank may be of some material suitable for the purpose, for instance, type-metal of proper composition which after subjection to a process for producing a homogeneous wrought structure may be utilized in the form of a continuous ribbon or red or in the form of separate pieces each having a length substantially equal to the length of the finished typebar. For the production of consecutive types on the edge of the blank each individual typeformable segment of the blank is, in producing the typebar forming the subject of the present invention, subjected to operations that will result in the formation and finislr ing of a type prior to the transfer of these operations to the next segment in advance, and which has the metal both in the head and in the body portion thereof thoroughly condensed and compacted substantially throughout the whole mass of the type. In order to produce this result I deem it necessary not only to condense the face portion of the type but also to subject the body and the base of the progressively formed type-block, designated in a general way by F, to a direct compressing action which will result in condensing and more intimately uniting the particles of the metal in the body and the base of such type-block. \Vhen a type-block is treated in this manner it will be evident that a type having a strong and stiff base and body will result, and the type will therefore be able to withstand successfully much greater crushing forces when in actual use than would a type having a compressed face and a body substantially uncompressed as compared with such face.

The principal operations to which each portion or segment ofthe typebar-blank will, when these are acted upon individually, usually be subjected in order to form a per feetwrought metal type are cutting or incising, rolling, swaging and forging, the rolling and swaging serving to get rid of the surplus material and to produce the smooth and compact impression face having sharply-cut contour, and the forging operation serving to produce compacted and condensed body portion and base of the type.

Two principal movements may with advantage be utilized in forming types on the solid blank to make the present typebar, one of such movements being a feed movement of the members together and the other a simultaneous and relatively small to-anClfro alternating movement. When these two movements are combined each type will be formed gradually by repeated and progress ive reductions and shapings of the typeformable material; that is, the block and impression face of the type will be g -adually brought into their finished shape and the surplus stock will be gradually rolled. off. Thus the type will be worked up step by step to its finished shape by easy stages and repeated compressions of the particles together, and there will be no sudden and violent disturbance of a large mass of the stock, as is the case where the whole top face of the head of the type is formed by a single and practically indivisible operation. Each typeblock will, in the referred to method, be subjected, it is apparent, to a continuous operation, in the sense that each portion of the edge of the blank will be formed into a complete and finished typeblock before any other portion of the edge is subjected to the action of a second die to form a consecutive type. The blank may be subjected to these repeated operations in any suitable manner, but while hand-operated tools may be employed for the purpose,

suitable mechanism will ordinarily be used. Moreover, while different tools may be employed for forming the various faces of the type-block, I have deemed it preferable to vmake use of a single tool or die, "or the reason before indicated, that when one of the cooperative type-making members is moved relatively to the other, a single die is sutficient to subject the material of the blank to all the various operations which it undergoes before becoming a finished type.

Any proper type-die may be employed, and this may be mounted in any desired niannerthus, for instance, I may support one or more type-dies, such as (Z, on a carrier, such as D, which carrier may be secured to a shaft, such as 2, capable, at least, of a movement of rotation about its own axis, for the purpose of adjusting a die into its working position at the type-making point, and if desired this die-carrier may be mounted upon a rotary suppciting-carrier, the path of a die when the carrier is rotating and revolving being evidently a cycloidal one, as indicated in Fig. 4..

The wrought-metal blank may be supported in any appropriate manner during the operation of the type-forming die, and in effecting the penetration of the material of the blank by'the die it is immaterial whether the movement which I may designate as a transverse feeding movement imparted to the blank or the die or to both, but I find it convenient to feed the blank against the die.

For the production of the relative toand-fro. motion I may so actuate the blank by imparting such motion to a work-holder in which the blank may be supported. Good results are obtained in the character of. the

types produced by making this to-and-fro motion an oscillatory one about a given axis, although the present invention is by no means limited in its scope to the bar made by an oscillation about such an axis, as the to-andfro motion may be of different character. Thus, for instance, instead of oscillating the blank, the die may be rocked to and fro through a small angle while in engagement with the blank, this being indicated by the dotted die outline (Z, c in ig. -l.

The rolling action to which the material is subjected during the formation of a typeblock is effected ordinarily by means of a die, and a die construction which I find particularly advantageous in forming my improved wrought type is one that permits confinement of a given portion of a typebar-blank endwise thereof and type-forming operations thereon by a device which operas a single mechanical part and which may even be constructed in one piece, although it has many functions that might be carried out by a lar e number of tools. The. die may be furnished with a wall or blade at one or both sides one located in advance of the type-die if a blade in this location is used constituting a space-forming die for displacing a narrow strip of the stock forward of the forming type, while the wall preferably present at the opposite side of the die operates to confine endwise of the blank the portion of the stock to be operated upon at any given time for the formation of a type. he type-dies shownherein each iave both a space-forming die and a retaining wall, the former being designated by 5 and the latter by 5, which may both be of the same width, or the die which operates in advance of the die proper may be wider than the wall at the other side of the die for a purpose more fully set forth in my application Serial No. 57,934, filed April 29, 1901. This retainingwall forms means for confining endwise of the bar or blank the material within any given type field while such material is being wrought into shape, but as there are no corresponding end walls on the die to check the lateral fiowage during compression the material will, of course, be free to flow out crosswise of the blank. Both the wall and the space-forming die project usually throughout their whole length beyond the outer surface of the die, and hence throughout the whole period during which a. type is being formed the retaining wall serves to confine on one side the mass of material that is being shaped. The bottom of the die serves to roll out sidewise the major portion of material not required for the making of a type, while the bottom edges of the die serve to incise and draw inward from the mass of the blank sufficient material to fill the die-space and form a finished type. That part of the edge of the typebar-blank which is operated upon but is not compressed by the space-forming die and is not contained within the die-space is compressed by the faces of the lateral extensions 6, 6 provided for the purpose on the die and is rolled off sidewise of the typebarblanl' but is always confined endwise of the blank by the retaining wall just mentioned which operates additionally to form the ultimate type-separating space. Hence none of the surplus material is operated upon in such a manner as to force it into the field of an adjacent type, but instead all of the excess, whether it is forced out by the edge of the space-forming die or by the surfaces of the die-extensions, fiows sidewise of the blank and may afterward be severed from the bar to bring the sides of the latter into substantial parallelism with each other. Ordinarily the material forced out by the space-forming die and that which is rolled off by the die-extensions will to a considerable extent be moved outward during the preliminary operation of forming a type, that is, when the die is rolled onto the edge of the blank and into working position. The amount of material displaced during this preliminary rolling on of the die of course depends upon the extent to which the die penetrates the blank when it assumes its working position. The major portion of the work of forming a type may be effected during the time that the blank is oscillated and, if desired, the whole type-forming period may be coextensive with that in which this oscillation is occurring.

The manner in which and the extent to which the type-formable material confined endwise of the blank is operated upon are dependent upon the oscillation of the blank, and also upon the feed movement thereof. Usually a somewhat rapid feed movement .will be imparted to the blank during the early stages of the oscillation thereof, in order that the type may be roughed out rapidly and afterward finished. somewhat more slowly as the work approaches completion.

The die .is brought into its proper position with relation to the blank by some suitable means operating or operative in a desired manner. In Figs. 2 and 3 the die-carrier is represented witn its plane transverse to the direction of the length of the blank, and after a selected die is brought into position over the blank and the two are brought into engagement the latter may be oscillated by suitable mechanism, this oscillation being indicated in a general way by the dotted axial lines it, a converging to and passing through the axis of oscillation, which axis, I find, is best located in or immediately adjacent to the impression face of the finished type. The extreme position on one side and on the other of the blank during its oscillation is indicated in this figure by dot-ted outlines, while the rocking motion of the die if this be the member actuated is similarly indicated by the dotted lines a 50' drawn normal to the die in its extreme positions, Fig. i. instead, however, of arranging the cliecarrier with its plane transversely to the .ilank, the carrier may be disposed as in Fig.

in line with the blank, a similar oscillatory movement being imparted, as an instance of a relative to-and-fro movement, to the blank after selected die has been brought into its proper position to operate upon the edge of the blank. As the blank is swung toward the left-hand and toward the right-hand alternately (which particular operation is chosen as representing the general results attainable) and is simultaneously fed against the die, the stock at the b, of the forming type-block is forged, first at the l ft-hand side and then at the [ht-hand side, the forging action being ca est at the base of the type-block because this part of the latter is farthest from the of oscillation. The forging action, however, extends up the entire length of the side being operated upon and results in a thorou 'h con'ipacting or condensing of the particles of the block. The forging action being the greatest at the base of the typeblock. the latter will be strengthened the most in the region of its base, and the :i1O11f"1(HGCl base will be also connected with he face of the type by a layer of condensed thoroughly compacted by the forging operation. At each swing of the typebar-blank toward one of its extreme positions material. is forced up into the die cavity, while on the opposite side the space formed by the withdrawal of the side of the type-block from the face of the die forms an outlet through which air confined between the type-block and the dismay escape. Each time that a feed movement and an oscillation occur an additiinial portion of the surplus material confined under the typedie proper is forced. out sidewise of the blank the lower edge of the space-forming die and by the die-extensions. Accordin to the preferred mode of operation, the osllatory movement will decrease in extent or amount of its side to side movement and cease before the final completion of the type, and in order to fill the die completely and thus form a perfectly finished type it is desirable to finish a type by a simple feed movement after the oscillations have ceased. At this time the die will operate principally as a means for swaging the face of the t pe to its finished plane surface. After any one type has been formed on a typebar-blank another may be shaped in substantially the same way, but the retaining wall 5 should be so located as to lie close beside the adjacent finished type to the rear in order that the types when com pleted may be sufliciently close to one another.

The fins which are rolled off from the sides of the blank by the die-extensions and by the edge of the space-forming die may be removed at any proper time and in any suitable manner, a pair of cutting tools, such as 0, a, being indicated herein for the purpose, these preferably operating after the series of types has been formed.

It should, .of course, be understood that the under spaces corresponding to those existing between words or isolated letters may be formed in any suitable way, but preferably they will be formed by means of blank dies which operate to roll the metal off in substantially the manner just described.

These blank spaces may be of any uniform width, or they may be of varying widths, but in all cases it is desirable to form between worcls, spaces of such width as to make typebars of uniform length, each having thereon a series of composed and properly spaced types whether the blank spaces be of the same width or of varying widths, thus assuring the formation of typebars having types thereon properly composed and spaced.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The improved typebar herein described consisting of a longitudinally-wrought bar of metal having types wrought on its edge.

2. The improved typebar herein described consisting of a longitudinally-wrought bar of metal having a series of types provided with forged bases.

3. The improved typebar herein described consisting of a longitudinally-wrought bar of metal having a series of composed and properly spaced types wrought into shape thereon.

f. The improved typebar herein described consisting of a longitudinally wrought bar of metal constituting the body portion of the typebar and a wrought line of type along the edge of such body portion and integrally connected therewith.

5. The improved typebar herein described comprising a rolled body portion having a line of rolled type along its edge.

6. The improved typebar herein described comprising a longitudinally rolled body porticpn having a line of rolled type along its e ge.

7. The improved typebar herein described comprising a longitudinally rolled body portion having a line of cross-rolled type along its edge.

8. An improved typebar, consisting of a longitudinally wrought bar of metal having perpendicularly wrought type upon its ed e.

9. An improved typebar, consisting of a longitudinally wrought bar of metal having a series of types provided with transversely forged bases.

10. An improved typebar, consisting of a longitudinally wrought bar of metal having a series of composed and properly spaced types perpendicularly wrought into shape thereon.

11. An improved typebar, comprising a rolled body portion having rolled type along its edge, the line of the forging of the rolling being in transverse directions.

12. An improved ty ebar, comprising a longitudinally wrought ody portion having a line of cross-rolled and perpendicularly forged type along its edge.

13. An improved typebar, comprising a rolled body portion having a line of type rolled and forged in transverse directions, each of which is transversely disposed to the line in which the body was rolled.

14. An improved typebar, consisting of a longitudinally wrought bar constituting the body portion thereof and a line of transversely wrought types along the edge of said body portion and integrally connected therewith.

15. An improved typebar consisting of a wrought bar having the line of the grain longitudinally disposed thereof and a line of wrought type disposed along the edge of said body portion and inte rally connected therewith, having the line of their grain transversely disposed to said former line.

16. An improved typebar comprising a wrought body portion having a line of type along its edge wrought thereon in a direction transversely to the direction in which the body portion is wrought.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

FRED. J. Done, 0. E. Voss. 

